Saturday, December 16, 2006

Toy tools

Thousands of pounds worth of equipment in the workshop and what do I find myself making as my woodworking task for this week? Parrot toys. Yes, the drillpress has had to exert itself to bore holes in a cuttlefish bone. The bandsaw has earnt its keep sawing softwood blocks. Frankly it's embarrassing, especially given the likelihood that the ungrateful birds will ignore them.

Except... Good lord, even as I finished typing that I turned round to see both of them with softwood blocks in claw, applying themselves to destroying them as intended. Whoohoo! And thinking about it, maybe it's not such a waste of the tools. Have you seen the prices of "proper" parrot toys? Crumbs, given the materials involved and the fact that destruction is part of the point, well I don't think even Karl Holtey would think it feasible to charge as much.

Oh, some woodworking trivia. Did you know Mike Humphries, Woodrat instructor extraordinaire, also used to do a side-line in parrot toys? Having acquired some many years ago I had a sneaking suspicion the students' practice pieces from the woodturning courses he also used to do weren't going to waste...